Feeding mechanism.



PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907 F. G. JAHN. FEEDING MECHANISM.

A APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907.

F. G. JAHN. FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

[noon/Z0 7",

Witnesses.-

UNITED STATES FREDERICK G. JAHN, OF NEW YOR TIONAL POSTAL SUPPLY COMPAN PEENT OFFICE.

YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW .YORK.

F'EEDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1907.

Application filed August 16,1905. Serial No. 274,447.

T 0 ml], whom it mirty concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK G. J AHN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanism, of which the following is a specification. A

The present invention relates generally to feeding mechanism adapted to the feed of single pieces of paper or other material or mail matter and the, like in succession from a pile, stack or bunch thereof. v

It has for its object to provide a simple and inexpensive mechanism adapted to efficiently ,operate on varying siies, qualities and conditions of non-uniform matter or material that may be promiscuously collected or assembled with as equal accuracy as when operating on uniform material. 1

It also has for its object to dispense with the necessity of the adjustment heretofore found to be an invariable requirement whenever the character of the matter operated upon changed and whenever inaccuracy of operation appeared due to the wear of the coacting parts, the degree of which was never constant but variable as the character of the material varied and the need for which could not be anticipated.

With these main objects in View, the invention consists in the novel structures and combinations of parts hereinafter fully s'et forthlT .same on'the line 2, 2,

The accompanying drawin s, whichillustrate several practical embo iments of the invention,.show in Figure 1, a sectional side elevation of a mechanism desi nedfor tlreflat or horizontal feed of material or matter to for instance a printing Couple; and Fig. 2, a transverse vertical sectional elevation of the looking rear-wardly.

Fig. 3, a plan view of a modified form of the mechanism designed for the vertical or upri ht feed of material or matter as is usual in a well known form of mail or other marking machine. Fig. 4, a crosssectional elevation through the separator con-j 'tal lifll. Fig. 5, an elevation of a portion of said modified construction. Fi 6', a perspective view of the separator p ug orstrip removed from position. Fig. 7, a plan view of yet improvements, and Fig. 8, a side elevation of the same. Fig. 9, is a diagram illustrating an assemblage of sheets in feeding position; and Fig. 10 is a modified form of the wiper.

- The improved feed mechanism is shown with so much of a printing couple and cor-related parts as will be needed to a proper liniderstanding of one of the many useful enibodiments of the invention; it being understood that the printing couple shown in the drawings is merely representative of a mechanism or device performing some function with respect to the matter ed to or mo ed through a machine, such as printing, impress:

ing, embossing, counting and the like and wherein it is essential that each individual piece of such matter shall be similarly operated upon, treated or accounted for in its passage through the machine.

The printing couple of .Fig. 1, consistsof the printing or type carrying roller 40 and its coacting impression roller 41, the respective shafts 42, 43 being journaled in a machine frame, not shown, and geared together to runat the same surface speed. In Fig. 3, the printing couple consists of a; printing roller 01' part of a roller 15 with a coactin impression roller 16, the axes of which and the cor-related feed rollers 13, 14 being vertically arranged in contradistinction to being horizontally arranged as in Fig. 1. The difference being in the two structures that in the one the sheets or other matter to be operated upon pass through the machine in flat horizontal condition while in the other structure the sheets or other matter stand and pass vertically on edge through the machine as for instance as is common in mail marking machines of the character- 1 which the present improvements are readily adapted.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the feeding mechanism consists of oneor more horizontally arranged carrying belts or bands 25,

another modified construction of the stretched aroundt rooved rollers 21, 22 and i' lv over an intermediate supporting-roller 23,;

. 25 and in function of said band and for better action the -'earrying belt or belts being arranged to support a pile or stack of pieces ofinatt'er horizontally placed thereon to feeder present individual pieces between the members of the printing couple. Coacting with the carrying -belt,'-to insure the feed of single pieces of matter from the stack or pile, is

arranged an overlying or angularly opposed,

separator consisting of a smgle rectangular plug, block or strip of rubber bearing endwise againet the surface of the carrying band direct opposition to the feeding and supported on its four vertical sides by the walls of a hole 7 in a container 30, which, in. this instance is of suflicient weight to act as a bearer or guide between which and'the surface of the carrying belt each piece of matter passes onward through the machine, while the separator strip loose with respect to the container is tending to retard the movement of such piece of matter and actually holds back the succeeding piece or pieces of matter until the rear edge of the firstpiece has passed beyond the front edge of said strip whereupon such succeeding piece of matter will then be allowed to follow onward betweenthe container and its separator strip and the carrying belt. The weight or. pressure of the container or bearer 30 against each individual passing piece of matter is such as to cause the carrying belt to move said piece onward with the same surface speed in opposition to the dragging effect of the separator strip.

The container or bearer 30 is supported in a relatively fixed position by a pair of loosely engaging guide studs 31, see Fig. 2,

throughthe machine;

The separator strip 10 is also free to move depending from the under sideof a head 32 which is held on a fixed transverse guide rod 33 by a set screw 34 by means of which the bearer and its separatorstrip may be ad justed'to any position transversely of the machine. The connection between the head 32 and bearer 30 is such as to permit a free vertical movement of the bearer with respect to the head to accommodate itself to the thickness of the individual pieces ofmatte'r,

desi n'edto be acted on and fed successively with respect to the container or bearer 30 and is causedto exert a desired pressure upon the passing matter and "to thus oppose the passage'of more than one piece at a time by one or more weights .35, changeable if desired, acting througha follower 9, upon the end of the strip; the said follower being guided and supported by the walls of a hole in I the head 32 and by those of the hole 7 in the bearer 30.

In the modified structures Fi s. sun 8' wherein the pieces of matter are -designed to move through the machine vertically on their lower longitudinal edges, the feed mechanism, represented by a horizontally arranged feed roller 12 with a rubber carrymg or feeding surface 12*, is mounted on a vertical spindle as is an auxiliary feed roller 11, also having a rubber carrying or feeding surface 11 while the se arator is mounted in a horizontal position irectly opposed to the feed roller 12, with the separator plug, blocker strip 10 directed endwise hormontally against or toward the feed roller 12 preferably at an angle to a vertical plane talreh transversely across the machine In this instance the rubber (or other proper substance) separator plug 10 is contained by a rectangularguide tube 3 projeetingrearwardly from 'a bearing plate 3, which extends forwardly in the directiontake'n by the pieces of matter through the machineto guide them to the feed rollers 13, 14, coacting for this purpose with a portion of a fixed guide 28 arranged-011 the opposite side of the.

path of movement of the pieces of matter. In lieu of the weights holding the bearer and separator plug to duty heretofore described the bearer 3 is borne upon by I a spring pressed rod 17, and the separator plug 10, by a coiled spring 15, interposed in the container tube between the rear end of the plug and a pin 1, carried at the tube end. The spring 18 of the rod 17 is mounted on said rod be- .tween an adjustable collar 19 and the eyeof a fixed vertical post 20 rising from the machine table C, see Fig. 5. The bearer '3 and separator container 3 are carried on the upper end of a post 5, projecting u ward through a slot in the table C from a roc arm 4, carried by a pivot 2, see dotted lines,-Fig. 3, to permit them to yield bodily with respect to the feed roller 12 against the pres sure of the spring 18 to accommodate the passage of different thicknesses of pieces of matter between the roller and bearer. In

this instance as in the former embodiment of the invention the bearer-and plugmay yield independently of each other.

' It will be noticedv n both of the vertical and horizontal arrangements of the separator plug 10, described, that it occupies only a portion of the widthwi'se dimensions of the feeding belt or roller, the remaining widthwise portions of the feeding belt and roller on opposite sides of the plug taking the prespiece of rubber or other flexible substance supported at one end b a block 52 sure of the bearer 30 as in Fig. 2, and the bearer 3 as in Fig. 4, so that the feed of the belt and roller will be sufficient to overcome the dragging or hold back efiect of the separator plug, and substantially no hesitancy in the continuous onward feed of the material occur, the degrees of pressure of the bearer and of the separator plug toward the feed belt and roller being adjusted or determined to insure the proper feeding action of the belt or roller and the separating action of the se arator plug.

In ealing with non-uniform matter especiaily with sheets of pa er or the like where the thicknesses of the slieets vary anywhere from one thousandth to several thousandths of an inch, in order to attain absolute accuracy in their separation and feed as individual pieces, it has been found advantageous to employ with the feeding mechanism a flexible ended wiper situated, when assoc1-' ated with the separator plug just described, closely in rear of said separator and bearing, or tending to bear against the feed roller or band and against the forward ends of the pieces of matter as they a proach the bight et'ween the wiper and fee roller or band, as is indicated in Figs. 3, 7 and 8. The tendency of this wiper is to separate the matter into individual pieces and in doing so to cause the leading edges of the assembled matter to assume a stepped arrangement somewhat in the manner indicated by the diagram, Fig. 9, wherein the innermost iece of matter lying next the surface of the eed roller is the most forward or advanced-one, and the most rearwardthe outermost one-suflicient surface contact and pressure of the wiper with and against the pieces of matter being provided to cause the assembled pieces to naturally assumethis position during the operation of the mechanism so that the separatoris relieved of considerable of the work of separation' and in consequence the feed of individual pieces is assured.

Several embodiments of the wiper are illustrated in the drawings. In the form shown in Figs. 7 and 8, thewiper 50 consists of afiat and adhesive adjustably mounted on the turne up end of a rod 53 which is also adj'ustably carried by the slightly independent of t e' detached in Flg.

post 5, of the separator. Such a wiper is. shown 10, wherein it is combined with a metal backing 54 bent at its end away fromthe free and forward end of the wiper so that when in action as indicated by the curved dotted lines there is a slight space between the back of the wiper and its metal backing to'allow the wi er to yield very backing and of its su port 52. In lieu of the metaLbacking the wiper 50 may be formed with a harder *rubb er or} other 55, as indicated Fig. 7. Such backing, however, ma be of cloth or canvas, or the canvas may be ocated in the body of the wi er as is'common in rubber belting and the ike, which prevents the wiper from stretching and yet leaves it suffi-- ciently pliable for the purpose; Many ways of supporting the wiper will suggest them selves to those skilled in the art. As indicated in Fig. 5, the supporting rod 53 of the wiper is hinged to the post 20, a spring 56 (see Fig. being coiled around the post one and the other enga ed by an adjustable collar 58 on the post, or varying the tension of the spring, port for the wiper in addition to the inherent flexibility of the material of the wiper.

The extent of bearing surface of the wi er against the feeding device, such as the rofler end engaging the hinged or pivoted rod 53 and thus provide a yielding sup- 12 or belt 25 will depend largely upon the character of the matter being fed through the machine as well also, as the degree of pressureagainst the feeding device. It is advantageous to mount the wiper and bearer 3 or 30 so that they will yield independently of each other during the passage of the matter being fed, and furthermore that when the bearer is employed with the wiper that the free end of the wiper shall be as close the entrance to the bearer and opposed feeding device as will allow freedom of movement of both. So too the entrance end or corner of the bearer 3 as in Fi s. 3 and 7, should be slightly flared or rounded The general function and operation. of the improved wiper operating with or without the separator plug will have been understood from the foregoing description. In the organization shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bunch of matter to be fed will be laced on the carrying band 25 immediatey in rear of the bearer 30. On forward motionbeing imarted to the band the lowermost piece wille' carried onward under the bearer and the strip 10'to the printing couple while the remaining pieces of the bunch will be held back thereby. In Figs. 3 and, 7 the assembled matter to be fed through the machine is placed at the entrance of the machine so as to comewithin the action of the feed roller or rollers 12, 11, which take tl e individual piece in contact therewith and feed it forward against the dragging action of the wiper which is at thesame time holding the other pieces of matter back and preventin their feeduntil the rear edge of the propei ly fed piece has passed beyond/ the forward edge matter having passed the wiper may pass,

between the arerlandthe roller and encounter the separatop plug which in addition to guarding against the feed of more than one piece at .a time exerts sufl icient pressure against the passing piece of matter,

to. aid the roller vor belt in morepositivel-y carrying it forward than the mere pressure of the bearer 3 or 30 would do. The use of v .the feed roller 1'1 in the structure shown in Fi 3, is not absolutely essential.

. not originally even with one another, in

7 I It is useful where the assembled matter is of different lengths'and where the leading edges were which case it acts to feed a backward piece up into feeding position on the roller 12 betrate in Figs. 1 and 2, as the same forms the or bent in bearin subject of anotherapplication hereinbefore referred to. v

What is claimed is z, 1. The combination with a feed mechanism, of an opposed flexible ended strip of ad hesive material fixed relatively to the feed.-

movement-and arranged with its end flexed against the forwardly moving surface of t e feed mechanism, and a support for said strip permitting a bodily yielding movement of the strip with respect to said feed mechanism.

2. The combination witlra feed mechanism, of an opposed separator strip of abrasive material fixed relatively to the feed mo'v'ement, and a support therefor forming a l bearer against the feed mechanism in addition to the strip andadapted to permit a yielding movement of the strip. I

3; .The combination with a feed mechan ism, of an opposed separator strip and bearer both. mounted in surface alinement andfixed relativelyto the'feed movement and each adapted to independently yield with respect to t e feed mechanism.

4. The combination with a feedmechanism of an opposed bearer mounted relatively fixed with respect to the feed movement, and a separator strip of flexible material confined in osition within the compass of the bearer wit their active surfaces in ali'nernent and said strip adapted to yield independent of said bearer.

5. The combination with a feeding 'de,

vice, of a coacting flexible ended wiper of adhesive material its said end flexed or bent 1n earing against the movingsvrface of the feeding device andextending away from said device in a direction at an angle to the feed movement.

6. The combination with a forwardly rotating feed roller, of a coacting flexible wiper acting wiper of adhesive material flexed or bent in bearing against said feed device andv extending in an inclined direction to the feed movement, and a laterally yielding support for the wiper.

10. The combination of a continuously in tating feed roller, a coacting wiper of adhesive material flexed or bent in bearing against said feed roller, and a laterally yielding support for the wipera 11. The combination of a continuously rotating feed roller, a coacting flexible ended wiper of adhesive material flexed or bentin bearing against said feed roller, and a spring pressed support for the Wiper.

12. The combination of a feed devise, a laterally yielding wiper and a laterally yielding bearer in advance of the wiper and both impinging against the feed device.

13. The combination of a feed device, a laterally yielding Wiper, a laterally yielding bearer and a strip or plug supported by the bearer.

14. The combination of a feed roller, and an opposed flexible wiper adapted to impinge on the surface of the roller and be thereby flexed or bent and fixed relative to the surface travel of said roller to prevent the food ofmore than one piece at a time. 15. The combination of a feed roller, an opposed flexible wiper adapted to impinge on the surface of the roller and be thereby flexed or bent and fixed relative to the surface travel of said roller to prevent the feed of more than one piece at a time, and a supplemental feed roller for advancing the pieces of matter toward the wiper and the first named feed roller. 16. The combination of a feed roller, a flexible wiper and a bearer each adapted to impinge against the surface of said roller in advance of the articlesbeing fed.

17. The combination of a feed roller, a spring pressed bearer and a spring pressed flexible wiper each adapted to impinge against the surface of the roller in advance of the articles being fed.

18. The combination ofa feed roller, a

9. The combination of a feed-device, a co- 12 5 spring pressed bearer and a spring pressed strip or-plug guided by thebearer and both adapted to impinge against the surface of the roller. a

19. The combination of a feed roller, a yielding wiper, a spring pressed bearer mounted in advance of the wiper, and a yielding strip or plug guided by the bearer, the wiper, bearer and strip each adapted to bear agIainst said roller.

20. wiper, a bearer and a strip or plug each mounted to yield independently of the others.

21. The combination of a feeding device, a wiper and a bearer in advance of the wiper, the bearer having a flared entrance.

22. The combination of a feeding device, a

wiper, a bearer in advance of the wiper and a resistance piece mounted in propinquity to the bearer.

23. The combination of a feeding device, a wiper, Vance of the wiper, tially continuous bearer against the feeding device and adapted .to yield independently I 3 of one another. he combination of. a feed roller, a

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 31st day of FREDERICK G. JAHN.

July, 1905.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. GRAHAM, .A T. DOLPHIN.

a bearer mounted immediately in adboth forming a substan- 

